Coin controlled shopping bag dispenser



Jan. 28, 1964 J. 5. DAVIS ETAL 3,119,484

com CONTROLLED SHOPPING BAG DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmmu IIIIIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEYS Jan. 28, 1964 J. s. DAVIS ETAL 3,119,484

com CONTROLLED SHOPPING BAG DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 AT TOR NE YS Jan. 28, 1964 J. s. DAVIS ETAL 3,119,484

COIN CONTROLLED SHOPPING BAG DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet s F .12

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,119,484 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 CGIN CGNTR'GLLED SIISRPING BAG DISPENSER John S. Davis, Irvington-on-Hudson, and William H. F.

Grab, West Islip, NFL, assignors to Equitable Paper Bag (10., Long isiand City, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 12, 19-51, Ser. No. 102,54? 16 Elaims. (Cl. 194-22) This invention relates to vending machines and more especially to machines for dispensing shopping bags, though many features of the invention are useful on vending machines generally.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved vending machine for articles which have a bail, such as the handles of a shopping bag. The machine includes a rod around which the bails extend and there is an interference for preventing the bails from sliding along the rod to the end from which they are to be removed. It is another object to provide an improved, coin-operated, escapement for the interference.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vending machine with a rod extending through the bails of articles to be sold, and with a coin-operated escapement for dispensing one article at a time, with the escapement constructed as part of the coin-operated unit including a coin holder. This permits the escapement to be of much simpler and rugged construction and it provides for convenient removal and replacement of the combined coinoperated unit and escapement whenever the coin box is removed and replaced with an empty one.

One of the principal advantages of the removable coinoperated escapement assembly is that the coin box can be locked closed so that the collector turns in the locked boxes to a cashier and there is no access by the collector to the money in the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character indicated with a simple and replaceable coin-operated unit that can be interchanged with another to accommodate the machine to coins of different denominations. Thus, the dispenser can be made to sell bags for five or ten cents.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine made in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary view showing the interference for preventing removal of shopping bags from the machine;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGURE 2, but illustrating the way in which the interference operates in response to release of an escapement mechanism to permit removal of a shopping bag from the machine;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing the mechanism box that contains the escapement and the coins and showing the way in which it is removed from the machine;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged isometric view of the mechanism box shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic, isometric view showing the way in which the interference and escapement mechanism is inserted into the box shown in FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on the plane 88 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional View taken on the line 99 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of the interference and escapement mechanism of the machine shown in the other views;

FIGURE l1 is a sectional view taken on the line 1lll of FIGURE 10*;

FIGURE 12. is a side elevation, similar to FIGURE 10 but showing a modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken on the line 1313 of FIGURE 12.

The vending machine shown in FIGURE 1 includes a frame 15 having a base 16 supported from a floor by legs 17. These legs 17 are preferably tubular and internally threaded for receiving the upper ends of feet 18 that can be adjusted to accommodate the machine to uneven floor surfaces.

There is a tubular socket 2t} rigidly secured to the base 15. A rod 22 extends into the socket 2t} and is movable up and down in the socket lit with a telescoping movement. The rod 22 is locked in any adjusted position, with respect to the socket 29, by set screws 24. This construction is representative of connections between the rod 26" and base Id having vertical adjustment.

From the socket 2b, the rod 22 extends upwardly and then forwardly. The other end of the rod has a downwardly-extending portion 2a, and the highest part of the rod extends under a mechanism box 28 secured to the top of the frame 15.

The frame 15 is preferably made of tubular elements welded or otherwise connected to form a rigid structure. The tubular elements of the frame include a group of elements 32 which form a tray 33 on which a stack of shopping bags 34- are supported. These shopping bags have bails consisting of handles 36- that extend around the rod 22. By having the tray 33 slope downwardly toward the front, and having the handles 36 in contact with the back of the rod 22, the rod prevents the bags from sliding forward on the tray 33 and keeps the bags in an orderly stack on the tray. The tray 33 can be raised.

FIGURE 2 shows the upper end of the rod 22 and illustrates the relation of the rod to the mechanism box 28. There is an interference consisting of a wheel 37 extending downwardly through the bottom of the box 28 and to a level lower than the top surface of the rod 22. In the construction illustrated, the wheel 37 extends into a recess 38 in the top surface of the rod 22. This wheel 37 prevents the handles of the shopping bags from being pulled forwardly on the rod 22 and from being pulled off the end 2d of the rod.

In order to permit the removal of one bag at a time. in response to the supplying of a coin to the mechanism box 23, there are notches 41 in the periphery of the wheel 37. Each Otf these notches has a radial extent greater than the depth to which the wheel 37 extends into the recess 38. The notches are made of such size that the minimum clear cross section of notch 40, when it passes the lowest point of the recess 38, is suflicient to receive both handles -36 of a shopping bag, as shown in FIG- URE 3.

When the wheel 37 is in its initial position, the notches 49 are in the relation illustrated in FIGURE 2. As a bag is pulled upwardly and forwardly along the rod 22, the handles of the bag move into the left-hand notch in of FIGURE 2, and they can not move any further unless the wheel 37 is free to turn. Ordinarily, the wheel 37 is prevented from turning by an esoapement mechanism, but when a coin is dropped into the box 28, the esoapernent mechanism releases the wheel 37 and permits it to turn through an angle equal to the angular spacing of the notches 40.

This angular movement of the wheel 37 permits the handles as to advance along the rod 22, as shown in FIG- URE 3. By the time the wheel 37 is stopped by the escapement mechanism, the handles 36 have reached the end of the recess 38, as shown in FIGURE 4, and they are in a position to slide off the end portion of the rod 22.

This machine is primarily intended for vending shopping bags. From the descriptions thus fiar, however, it will be apparent that it can be used for vending any article that has a bail which can extend around the rod 22. This bail may not be a portion of the actual article being sold, but may be a part of the bag in which the article is contained. The expression bail is used herein to desigmate a loop-like element, of any shape, such as a bang handle, whether flexible or rigid, and regardless of whether it is a single strand or in several sections, such as the handles of a shopping bag which are connected to opposite sides of the bag.

Each of the notches 4th is made large enough so that when located at the lowest part of the recess 3%, there is still sufiicient open area of the notch for receiving the hail of the amticle being sold; and in the case of a shopping bag the bail is considered as composed of two section-s consisting of two handles of the shopping bag. It is important that the notches it? be small enough so that they can not receive the bails of two successive articles sLmul-taneously. In the ease of a shopping bag, this means that four handles pressed into the left-hand notdh 40 of FIGURE 2 will so fill the notch that the wheel 3? cannot turn far enough to bring the notch to the low point of the groove 38. it becomes necessary to back the wheel and remove the handles of the second bag from the notch 40 before the wheel can be rotated counterclockwise to remove the first bag from the rod 22, in the manner already explained.

It will be apparent that with articles having bails made of a single section, the notch 43 must be small enough to receive only the single section.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, the top of the mechanism box 23 has a coin insert 44 for operating mech anism which will be described in connection with subsequent figures of the drawing. There is a sign holder 46 attached to the top of the frame 15 behind the mechanism box 28, and the sign holder 46 includes a display pole 48.

The mechanism box 28 carries the wheel 37 (FIGURE 2) which serves as the interference for preventing removal of bags except in response to the depositing of coins. The mechanism box 28 also carries the escapement for releasing the wheel 37, the coin mechanism for the escapement, and a chamber for holding coins that are deposited through the insert 44. It is a feature of the invention that this mechanism box 2% and its contents can be removed as a unit. The box 28 has a cover 49 which is locked in closed position by a lock 5% so that the collector who removes the box from the machine has no access to the mednanism or the money within the box. When a collector removes the mechanism box 28 from the machine, he replaces it with a similar box that contains no coins. The coin compartment 'within the box 28 is made large so that the machine can be operated for extended periods without requiring removal and replacement of the mechanism box 23.

FIGURE 6 shows the construction of the mechanism box 28. It has side walls 54 to which angle sections $6 are attached at the upper end of the box. The horizontally-extending legs of these angle sections 56 extend into guides which will be described in connection with FIG- URE 8. The cover 49 is hinged to the back of the box 28 and the lock 50 projects into a recess in the back of a front wall 43 when the cover is closed and locked.

There is a coin slot 60 in the cover 49 and this slot 60 is under the coin insert 44 (FIGURE 5) when the mechanism box 28 is in its operative position. Coins cannot be shaken out of the box through the slot 60, however, because of the escapement mechanism which is located within the box and directly under the slot es.

The front wall 58 extends beyond the side walls 54 and above the level of the cover 49 so as to serve as a stop for positioning the box 28 when it is inserted into the guides that hold it in the frame of the machine. in order to pre- 4 vent unauthorized removal of the box 23, there is another lock 62 attached to the front wall as and having a latch element 64 which moves upwardly through a slot in the cover 4 9 and into a recess in the frame of the machine above the box 28 when the box is in operative position in the frame.

There are channel guides 66 on the front and back walls of the box 28 and confronting one another at the opposite ends of the box. These channel guides on hold the interference, escapement, and coin-operated mechanism of the machine.

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the box 28 with the cover 49 open and with the interference, escapement and coin-operated mechanism assembly 68 inserted part way into the guide 66. This assembly can be removed and replaced with a similar assembly which takes coins of different size, as already explained. No fastening means for holding the assembly 63 in the box 28 are necessary because the assembly 68 rests on the'bottom of the box 28 and is high enough to be held down against the bottom of the box by the cover 49 when the cover is closed. Thus, the cover 49 prevents any upward movement of the wheel 3'7 when an attempt is made to remove more than one article from the machine by jamming several bails into the same notch of the wheel.

FIGURE 8 shows the coin insert 44 secured to a plate 70 that rests on tubular elements 72 of the frame 15. This plate 70 is secured to the tubular elements 72 by screws 74 which are representative of fastening means.

A lower plate 76 is attached to the plate 70 by screws '78. This lower plate 76 has structural angles 84 secured to its side faces; and the horizontally-extending portions of the angles 80 provide guides for receiving the angles 56 at the top of the mechanism box 28. This box 28 is shown in phantom in FIGURE 3.

There are strips 82 along the underside of the lower plate 76 for holding the mechanism box 28 down against the angles 80 without excessive friction; and there is an undercut 84- in the bottom surface of the lower plate 76 for receiving the latch element 64 (FIGURE 6) of the lock 62.

7 When the coin-operated mechanism is replaced with another mechanism for coins of different size, it is desirable to change the coin insert 44. FIGURE 9 shows the way in which the coin insert 44 is detachably connected to the plate 74). Countersunk screws extend upwardly through the plates 70 and 76. These \screws thread into openings in the coin insert 44. When the mechanism box 28 is removed from the machine, the screws 90 are accessible, and the coin insert 44- can be removed and replaced with a coin insert of difierent size.

FIGURES l0 and 11 show the assembly 63, including the wheel 37 and the coin-controlled escapement for releasing the wheel in response to the insertion of a coin. This assembly 68 has a plate 94 which is of a width to fit the channel guides 66 (FIGURE 6). The plate 94 (FIGURES 10 and 11) has a bottom face 96 that rests on a bottom 97 of the mechanism box. The portion of the wheel 37, which extends below the face 96, projects through a slot 8 in the bottom of the box. There is a spider Hill, concentric with the wheel 37, rigidly secured to the wheel by rivets MP2. The spider 1M3 also extends through the slot in the bottom of the mechanism box.

The wheel 37 and the spider 1G0 rotate as a unit on an axle 1M projecting from the plate 94. The wheel 37 and spider 106 are urged toward the plate 94 by a collar ltlfi and a lock washer 10% disposed between the collar and the wheel 37. The pressure of the lock washer 1% provides friction for preventing the wheel and spider from turning too easily, but leaves them free to turn in response to the pull of a bail against a notch in the wheel when the wheel escapement has been released by the deposit of a coin.

The wheel 37 is held against rotation by an escapement which includes a finger 112 having a hook 114 at its lower end. This hook 114 is in the path of teeth 116 of the spider 190, as shown in FIGURE 10. In order to release the escapement, a coin 118 is dropped into the coin insert and through the slot in the top of the mechanism box, and this coin 113 enters the assembly 68 through a slot 129 behind a plate. This plate terminates adjacent the periphery of the wheel 37 and thus serves as a guide to lead the coin 11$ downwardly into the space between the wheel 37 and plate 94.

Thus, the coin 11% drops into contact with the circumference of the spider 1% between teeth 116 of the spider. The coin 118 rolls downwardly along the circumference of the spider 16d and into the position indicated in dotand-dash lines in FIGURE 10. The coin is stopped in this position by contact with the finger 112.

The finger 112 is supported by a stud 126 extending from the plate 94. A collar 12?: holds the finger 112 against axial movement on the stud 126 while leaving it free to swing about the stud as a pivot.

The stud 125 is located at a level above that at which the coin 118 stops. Thus, rotation of the wheel 37 and spider 1%, in a counter-clockwise direction, causes the coin 118 to be jammed against the finger 112 at a location below the stud 126. This causes the finger 112 to be rocked clockwise and releases the hook 114 from the tooth 116.

As the wheel 37 and spider 1&9 rotate counter-clockwise, the coin 11%; moves downwardly to the level of an opening 139 in the plate 94. This opening is larger than the coin 113, and the coin falls sideways through the opening 130 which is chamferred to facilitate the dropping of the coin through the opening.

The displacement of finger 112, by the coin 113, causes th finger to bear against a spring 134, and when the coin drops through the opening 131' the spring 134 urges the finger 112 back toward latching position. This spring 134 facilitates the swinging of the finger 1:12 but is not used to move the finger all the way back to latching position because the stud 126 is positioned to the right (in FEGURE of the center of gravity of the finger so that the weight of the finger gives it a bias toward latching posi ion.

This return of the hook 114 into position to stop rotation of the spider 1%, and wheel 37, causes the spider and wheel to stop as soon as the next tooth 116 reaches the hook 114. Thus, the escapement mechanism permits the wheel and spider to rotate through an angle equal to the angular spewing of the notches 4h. The teeth 116 must have the same angular spacing as the notches.

The escapement mechanism can be equipped with a counter for indicating the number of bags dispensed. In order to support such a counter, there is a bracket 138 attached to the side of the plate 94 opposite the spider There is an opening through the plate 94, and a counter, supported on the bracket 138, has its end portion extend through the opening into position to be operated by the passage of successive teeth 116 of the spider 1%.

FEGURE 12 shows a modified form of the invention in which a plate 15;; is used in place of the wheel shown in other figures. Elements FIGURES 12 and 13, which are the same as in other figures, have the same reference characters. in the construction illustrated, the plate 15d is a wheel, as in the other figures and it is connected to the spider 1%; but there is a pin 152 secured to the plate 94, and this pin 152 extends through a slot 154- in the plate and spider.

This pin and slot construction provides stops for limiting the angular movement to approximately the angle subtended by the arc of movement of a notch 49 from its bail-receiving position (shown in full lines in FIG- URE 12) to its bail-delivery position (shown in dotted lines). There is only one notch 4i in the plate 159, because after each forward movement of the notch til, it is returned to its starting position by a spring 15s.

The spring 156 wraps around the axle 104 and is held on the axle by the collar 106. This spring 156 is stressed and bears against a stud 153 projecting from the plate 150, and the fixed pin 152,. The spring urges the plate to turn clockwise and does turn it clockwise, back to its starting position after such operation of the plate to release a shopping bag. The stroke of the plate 150 is approximately the same as the angle subtended by the periphery of the plate which is below the top surface of the rod 22, i.e., down in the recess 38.

t will be evident that a reciprocating interference, such as the plate I156, need not be a wheel. It is sufiicient that it be a sector of a circle having an arc of the necessary extent for its stroke, or it can have other and composite constructions. Likewise the lock and escapement need not use a spider since only one tooth of the spider is used; but it appears that the reciprocating construction is more easily understood when illustrated and explained with other parts already familiar in connection with the first embodiment.

In the construction shown in FIGURES 12 and 13 a counter is supported on the bracket 138, and the counter has a shafit 165 extending through an opening 168 in the plate 9 There is a crank arm 172 secured to the shaft 166. The arm 172 is fiead of the stationary plate 94- and the oscillatable or reciprocating plate 15d.

A spring 17d is connected at one end to the crank arm 172, and at the other end to a stud 176 attached to the reciprocating plate 15%. When the plate 150 oscillates in a counter clockwise direction in FIGURE 12, the stud 1'76 pulls the spring 174 toward the left and the pull of the spring moves the crank arm 1172 clockwise to operate the counter 165. Upon reverse movement of the plate 1%, the stud 17d pushes the spring 1'74 back to its original position and the spring contracts and then pushes the crank arm 1'72 counter clockwise to condition the counter 165 for another operation.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made and some features of the invention can be used in different combinations without departing from the inwention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A vending machine for shopping bags that have bail handles, including a frame, a support on the frame for a stack of the bags, a still rod of substantial cross section connected at one end to the frame extending from the frame for passage through the bail handles of the bags of said stack and then to a dispensing station at which the rod terminates, the handles of the bags of the stack being slidable along the rod and oil the end of the rod at the dispensing station, the frame being open to permit manual manipulation of the end bag from the stack for removal from the rod where said rod terminates at the dispensing station, an interference at the dispensing station in position to block removal of the handles of successive bags from the end of the rod, said interference having a notch therein of a size to receive the handles of one shopping bag and only one shopping bag with which the dispenser is intended to be used, a support on which the interference is movable to carry handles in the notch past the dispensing station, and a coin-controlled escapement for the interierence.

2. The vending machine described in claim 1, and in which the interference has its periphery extending below the level of the rod surface along which the handles slide, and the notch extends inwardly from the periphery and past the level of the rod surface for a distance equal to at least the height of the handles of one of the bags to be dispensed.

3. The vending machine described in claim 2, and in which the interference is a wheel that rotates about an axis and there are a plurality of notches in the circumference of the wheel at angularly spaced locations around the Wheel, and the escapement includes a releasable stop 7 that limits rotation of the wheel to an angle equal to the spacing of the notches.

4. The vending machine described in claim 2, and in which the rod is substantially wider than the interference and the rod has a recess therein and into which the interference extends, but the notch has a radial extent greater than the depth to which the interference extends into the recess by the height of the handles, the open space provided by the notch above the recess being less than the cross section of the handles of two bags.

5. The vending machine described in claim 2, and in which the rod extends upwardly and then forwardly, and the machine has a vertically movable platform on the frame for supporting the stack of shopping bags with their handles around the upwardly extending portion of the rod, and the interference is located along the forwardly extending portion of the rod, and the notch in the interference has an open area above the rod surface equal to the combined cross section of the two handles of a bag, but less than the combined cross section of the handles of two bags.

6. The vending machine described in claim 1, and in which the notch partially overlaps a portion of the rod, and the interference has a connection to the frame at a location remote from the connection of the rod to the 7 frame, and means for adjusting the related positions of the interference and the rod with respect to one another to change the overlap of the notch and rod and thereby adjust the effective size of the notch for receiving the handles of a bag.

7. The vending machine described in claim 2, and in which the rod is connected with the frame by telescoping connection from which the rod extends upwardly and then forwardly, the interference is located along the forwardly extending portion of the rod whereby telescoping movement of the rod at its connection with the frame adjusts the rod toward and from the interference, and there are means for locking the rod in any adjusted position.

8. A vending machine including a frame assembly, means for holding a plurality of articles on the frame assembly and from which successive articles are removed as sold, an interference supported from the frame assembly at a fixed location with respect to the holding means from which articles are to be removed, the interference being in position to block removal of said articles by direct contact therewith, an escapement means for controlling the operation of the interference, a coin-operated mechanism comprising part of the escapernent means, a box for receiving coins deposited in the coin-operated mechanism, the interference, escapement means, coin- :operated mechanism and box being a unitary assembly, and detachable fastening means connecting the unitary assembly to the frame assembly for removal from the frame assembly as a unit for replacement by a similar unit.

9. The vending machine described in claim 8, and in which there is a lock for securing the unitary assembly to the frame assembly, and the box has a cover that opens and closes, and a second lock for holding the cover closed.

10. The vending machine described in claim 9, and in "which both of the locks include key-operated means for releasing them, and the key-operated means are different :for operation by different keys.

11. The vending machine described in claim 8, and in 'Which there are guide means in the frame assembly for holding the unitary assembly in a definite position on the frame assembly, and the interference, escapement mechanism and coin-operated means are a sub-assembly that fits into the box with the lower portion of the interference extending through a slot in the bottom of the box and secured in its fixed position with respect to the article- ;holding means by restraining means in the box.

12. The vending maclnnedes cribed in claim 11, and in which there are guides on the frame in which the box slides into and out of its fixed position with respect to the article-holding means, and the restraining means within the box include another guide into which the sub-assembly fits and from which it can be removed for replacement by another sub-assembly.

13. The vending machine described in claim 12, and in which the box has a cover which opens and closes, and the sub-assembly rests on the bottom of the box, and the cover of the box, when in closed position, holds the sub-assembly against upward movement in the box.

14. A coin-controlled vending machine for shopping bags having bail handles, said machine comprising a fixed frame for supporting a stack of bags and located under the stack, a holder for extending through the bail handles and connected at one end to the fixed fname and the other end of said holder extending upwardly through the bail handles and being free at said other end for the re moval of successive bags therefrom, the frame being open to expose the bags for manual manipulation of successive bags upwardly along the holder toward the free end thereof, an interference adjacent to the holder and back from the free end of the holder and movable in one direction to release one bag at a time to slide along the holder beyond said interference, a lock for preventing movement of the interference, a coin controlled release for the lock, and automatic mechanism that resets the lock after limited movement of the interference after each release.

15. The vending machine described in claim 14 and in which the interference is a plate, and the machine includes a bearing on which the plate has angular movement, the interference having a peripheral portion that extends below the top level of the holder, a notch in the peripheral portion for receiving a hail of the bail handles of a shopping bag to be sold, the notch having a depth exceeding the extent of the peripheral portion below the top level of the holder by a clearance suffioient to receive the bail handles of one and only one of the shopping bags, stops limiting the angular movement of the plate to approximately the angle subtended by the peripheral portion of the interference that extends below the level of the holder, the automatic mechanism including a spring tensioned between the interference and another part of the machine in position to resist movement of the interference in a direction to release a bail handle and to restore the interference to its original position after it is displaced, the lock including a locking finger that holds the interference against movement, and means for releasing the locking finger.

16. The vending machine described in claim 14, and in which the stops for limiting the angular movement of the plate include a pin and slot, one of which is in the plate and the other of which is in a fixed part of the machine, which slot has ends that abut against the pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,667,576 Van Valkenbu-rgh Apr. 24, 1928 2,136,561 Parks Nov. 15, 1938 2,190,879 M ayfield Feb. 20, 1940 2,231,952 Rowe et al. Feb. 18, 1941 2,340,894 l/lorrell Feb. 8, 1944 2,364,939 Benjamin Dec. 12, 1944 2,483,153 Rousso Sept. 27, 1949 2,948,379 Hensley Aug. 9, 1960 3,050,214 Kopf Aug. 21, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 90,586 Germany July 5, 1896 

8. A VENDING MACHINE INCLUDING A FRAME ASSEMBLY, MEANS FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES ON THE FRAME ASSEMBLY AND FROM WHICH SUCCESSIVE ARTICLES ARE REMOVED AS SOLD, AN INTERFERENCE SUPPORTED FROM THE FRAME ASSEMBLY AT A FIXED LOCATION WITH RESPECT TO THE HOLDING MEANS FROM WHICH ARTICLES ARE TO BE REMOVED, THE INTERFERENCE BEING IN POSITION TO BLOCK REMOVAL OF SAID ARTICLES BY DIRECT CONTACT THEREWITH, AN ESCAPEMENT MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF THE INTERFERENCE, A COIN-OPERATED MECHANISM COMPRISING PART OF THE ESCAPEMENT MEANS, A BOX FOR RECEIVING COINS DEPOSITED IN THE COIN-OPERATED MECHANISM, THE INTERFERENCE, ESCAPEMENT MEANS, COINOPERATED MECHANISM AND BOX BEING A UNITARY ASSEMBLY, AND DETACHABLE FASTENING MEANS CONNECTING THE UNITARY ASSEMBLY TO THE FRAME ASSEMBLY FOR REMOVAL FROM THE FRAME ASSEMBLY AS A UNIT FOR REPLACEMENT BY A SIMILAR UNIT. 